To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1960 novel by novelist Harper Lee. An instant success, it won the Pulitzer Prize, widely read and taught in middle and high schools, and is even considered to be a masterpiece in modern American literature. The novel is famous for exploring the civil rights, social class and racism in the Southern United States in the early 20th century. It follows the story of a young girl and how she sees her hometown of Maycomb in her own eyes, as she witnesses the acts of morality, injustice and racism, and how it has an impact on her as she grows up. To Kill a Mockingbird was adapted into a 1962 Academy-Award winning film, and a sequel of the novel, Go Set a Watchman, was published in 2015, a year before Lee's death in 2016. Plot Summary Scout Finch is a 6-year-old girl living in the sleepy, old town of Maycomb, Alabama with her widowed father Atticus, her brother Jem and their black housekeeper Calpurnia in the early years of the Great Depression. Atticus is the local lawyer and works hard despite the family living in poverty, and assigns Calpurnia to be a mother-figure and caregiver to his children. One summer, Jem and Scout meet a boy named Dill Harris who stays with his aunt in Maycomb during the summer. The children become friends and are fascinated by the Radley house, which is the home to the reclusive Boo Radley, who nobody hasn't seen in years. The children tried several attempts to make him come out, but are unable to. Scout goes to school for the first time and resents it. But when she walks past the Radley house on her way home, she discovers that someone is leaving gifts for her in a tree's knothole on the Radley property until the hole was plugged up with cement. Another night, a fire breaks out at a neighbour's house, and as Scout watched, someone sneaks behind her and places a blanket around her. Atticus is assigned to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, and he will help him the best way he can. This causes a major, racist outrage in Maycomb, and Jem and Scout are constantly tormented by the residents and children. A group of men come after Atticus to lynch him one night but Scout protects her father by saying something sympathetic to a classmate's father before the mob disperses. Tom Robinson's trial begins, and Scout, Jem and Dill secretly watch the trial. Atticus provides real evidence that Mayella and her father, the town drunk Bob Ewell are lying. He says that Bob had beaten his daughter as she made sexual advances towards Robinson. Despite Atticus speaking out the best way he could, the all-white jury convicts Robinson of the crime. Jem becomes distraught of the unfair injustice, and Atticus hopes that his client would have a appeal. But Robinson was shot and killed as he tried to escape prison. Despite Robinson being convicted, Bob Ewell is outraged for being humiliated and vows revenge. He breaks into the judge's house, menaces Robinson's widow, and one night, when Jem and Scout were walking home alone from a Halloween party, Ewell attacks them. Jem's arm is broken, but someone arrives and kills Ewell by stabbing him. He then carries Jem back home and Scout finds out that the man is Boo Radley who had saved her and her brother from Ewell. Sheriff Tate arrives and finds out about Ewell's fatal stab wound, but to protect Boo's privacy and prevent him from being accused, he declares that Ewell had simply tripped and fallen onto his own knife. Scout walks Boo home, and after he goes back into his house, she never sees him again. Afterwards, Scout begins to imagine life from Boo's own perspective and the important lessons she had learned from her childhood. Characters Jean Louise "Scout" Finch- The main protagonist. She is 6 years old when the story begins and aged 8 when it ends. She is a mischievous, tough tomboy but is also innocent of life around her and her family. She soon learns how cruel and harsh people can be to one another, especially during Robinson's trial but also understands the importance of kindness in others and how it would change the way she views at life. Scout is also the main narrator of the story, as she may have been looking back on her childhood as an adult in her point of view. Writing History/Reception Themes Symbols Foreshadowing * Scout mentions Jem had broken his arm at age 13 in the opening lines of the first chapter. Foreshadows the part near the end where Ewell attacks them by breaking Jem's arm as they walked home alone, therefore she tells the story leading up to his injury * Burris Ewell's first and only appearance in school. Foreshadows his father Bob Ewell's villainous and demented presence * The strange gifts Jem and Scout find in the knothole tree. Foreshadows the truth that Boo Radley is a kind, good man * Atticus shoots a mad dog. Foreshadows the same fate his client Tom Robinson would meet * Bob Ewell's threats of revenge. Foreshadows the part near the end where he attempts to kill the Finch children * Tom Robinson is shot and killed while trying to escape from prison, mainly because he is black. Foreshadows the fact that African-Americans at the time are trying to win their freedom from slavery, not to mention that it explains that the innocent would sometimes die because of racial discrimination that affects their race Adaptations The novel was adapted into a 1962 film, directed by Robert Mulligan and featuring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, which earned him an Oscar for Best Actor for his phenomenal performance, and Mary Badham as Scout Finch, as well as Robert Duvall as Boo Radley. External Links Category:American literature Category:20th-century novels Category:Coming-of-age novels Category:Novels written by a woman Category:Novels